For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Isaiah 60:1-3    

1 ‘Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth
    and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

A. Find Out:

1. What is the call to them? v.1a
2. Why can they do this? v.1b
3. What is the state of the world? v.2a
4. But what is happening to Israel? v.2b
5. Who will come? v.3
6. What will they come to? v.3

B. Think:

1. Why will Israel appear different from other nations?
2. What effect will that have on the world?
3. Why was that needed at that time, do you think?

C. Comment:

The Lord has just declared that He will come as a Redeemer to Israel and establish a new covenant with them. Now He brings a call to Israel to stand up and be seen by the rest of the world.

He starts by a call to “rise and shine” (which isn’t a call to get out of bed!). It’s a call to stand up and be seen to be different. Why can they do that? Because the presence or glory of the Lord has come to them. This is what makes them different from the rest of the word – that God is with them!

He then calls attention to the rest of the world: there is (spiritual) darkness over the rest of the earth. The rest of the earth do not know God. They have no revelation. They are living in Sin. There is no revelation. This is darkness, ‘thick darkness’ and it is over all the rest of the world. Without the knowledge and presence of God, there is only darkness.

Then He comes back to Israel ‘s state as He promises it: His presence and His glory is returning to the chosen people. It is happening. But because this is prophecy and prophecy often speaks out of time, it is not clear in history when this actually will be. The most obvious conclusion is that in the light of the words about a new Spirit and word covenant, it came about in the establishing of the kingdom of Jesus , when Christians become the new people of God who are not limited by boundaries. These people will draw many others from all over the globe to the Lord.

D. Application:

1. Where God’s presence is, it is seen!
2. God’s Spirit dwells in a Christian. Is it seen in you?

Passage: Isaiah 60:4-6

4 ‘Lift up your eyes and look about you:

all assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
    and your daughters are carried on the hip.
5 Then you will look and be radiant,
    your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
    to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels will cover your land,
    young camels of Midian and Ephah.
And all from Sheba will come,
    bearing gold and incense
    and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.

A. Find Out:

1. What are they to do first? v.4a
2. What are they then to do? v4b,c
3. What will they then do and why? v.5a,b
4. What will come to them? v.5c,d
5. What will be seen in the land? v.6a,b
6. What will they be bringing? v.6c,d

B. Think:

1. How will there be a restoration of people?
2. What impact will that have on them?
3. How will there be a new prosperity?

C. Comment:

In verse 3 we saw the Lord saying that kings and nations would come to them. That is now enlarged upon. He tells them to actually start looking for it is happening. When a prophetic word comes, the Lord looks for an immediate response in us. The fulfilment may not be for a while, but the Lord does look for an immediate faith response in us.

He says that their offspring will return to the land from afar. This may apply to the return after the Exile, or the return in the 20th century. It simply means that future generations will return to the land. This will release great joy in them; their faces will be radiant with that joy.

Then they will find that because the blessing of God is upon them, it will also mean that the hearts of other nations will be turned to them and they will trade and become exceedingly prosperous. The picture of camel caravans coming loaded with produce to pay them for the good things God has given them is indeed beautiful. There are echoes of the reign of Solomon here, when the nation was at its most prosperous.   

The difficulty here is trying to understand when this is that the Lord is speaking about. Perhaps it is better simply to observe the spiritual principles rather than get bogged down in prophetic fulfilment concerns. The truth here is that when God moves and blesses His people, it means restoration, it means a coming together of His people and it means physical prosperity as well as spiritual blessing (the Lord does not distinguish between the two.)

D. Application:

1. When the Lord blesses, He blesses!!!
2. The Lord plans good things for his people – if they will receive them.

Passage: Isaiah 60:7-9 

7 All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you,
    the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings on my altar,
    and I will adorn my glorious temple.

8 ‘Who are these that fly along like clouds,
    like doves to their nests?
9 Surely the islands look to me;
    in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,
bringing your children from afar,
    with their silver and gold,
to the honour of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendour.

A. Find Out:

1. What will be given to them? v.7a,b
2. What will they be used for? v.7c,d
3. What does he ask? v.8
4. Who are turning to the Lord? v.9a
5. Who are they bringing? v.9b
6. Why? v.9c

B. Think:

1. How is verse 7 a continuation of the previous verses?
2. What is the picture conveying in verses 8 & 9?
3. What will be the outcome of all of this?

C. Comment:

From back in 59:19 the Lord spoke about men from other nations coming. In verse 3 of this chapter He declared that nations and kings would turn and come to Israel . In verse 4 He said that their descendants would return from around the earth and in verse 5 onwards, trade and prosperity would come to Israel . So in verse 7 we find a continuation of this picture of prosperity coming to Israel and then in verse 9 a reiteration of their descendants coming from afar.

First, the coming of prosperity. The names of the places in verses 6 and 7 – Midian in the far south, Ephar to the east of the Persian Gulf, now Kedar amd Nabaioth to the east in the northern reaches of the Arabian desert, all these indicate that people are going to come to them from all round the region. These last peoples will bring flocks to restore the Temple worship which will be glorious once again (whether figurative or literal in fulfilment is unclear, although it did happen in a measure at the return from Exile).

In verse 8 we see a return that is speedy (clouds) and natural (doves returning to nests). In verse 9 the distant lands send ships bringing back the children of Israel, the descendants (sons) of Israel, who will come bringing the spoil of the world (silver & gold) and as it is seen, the Lord will be honoured and glorified, and Israel will be seen to be endowed again by the Lord with the splendour of prosperity (did this happen after the Exile, it certainly did in a measure in the mid 20th century).

D. Application:

1. When God purposes, it happens!
2. When God decrees restoration, it happens!

Passage: Isaiah 60:10-12      

10 ‘Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
    and their kings will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
    in favour I will show you compassion.
11 Your gates will always stand open,
    they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations –
    their kings led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish;
    it will be utterly ruined.

A. Find Out:    

1. Who will do what for them? v.10a
2. How has the Lord changed towards them? v.10b
3. What will change in the city? v.11a,b
4. What will that enable to happen? v.11c,d
5. What will happen to those who don’t serve Israel? v.12

B. Think:

1. What signs of their future power are here?
2. What signs of their future prosperity are here?
3. Why is all this going to happen?

C. Comment:

As we have already noticed the Lord is going to bring people to Israel from around the world, for a variety of reasons. Some of them coming will simply be their children (descendants) returning to their land. Others will be coming to trade with them. Yet others will come to serve them. Instead of being a broken down nation fleeing into exile, they will become a nation that is coming back together and prospering. And the reason? The Lord has decreed it!

Previously the Lord had struck them with judgement but having removed the godless, unfaithful and unrighteous from the land, He will then go about restoring it and blessing it. We must remember that the “blessing verses” aren’t in isolation – they come after the judgement and cleansing verses and are interspersed among them. On the remnant He will have compassion, on those who were faithful, these are the ones He will bless. It is those whose hearts are set on the Lord, who have committed themselves to obedience, who are blessed by the Lord in these ways.

So foreigners will come to serve them and work for them in rebuilding the city and foreign kings will put themselves out to help Israel. Because the wealth of the nations will be constantly flowing to Israel, day and night, the city gates will have to remain open to let them in. This is a picture of the ongoing blessing that is coming. And any nation that does not join in blessing Israel? They will be punished and brought down for not joining in God’s plan to bless His people!

D. Application:

1. God’s plan is to bless His people. That includes ALL His people today.
2. That blessing includes using “the world”. Dare you believe it?

Passage: Isaiah 60:13-15

13 ‘The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
    the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,
to adorn my sanctuary;
    and I will glorify the place for my feet.
14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you;
    all who despise you will bow down at your feet
and will call you the City of the Lord,
    Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 ‘Although you have been forsaken and hated,
    with no one travelling through,
I will make you the everlasting pride
    and the joy of all generations.

A. Find Out:

1. What will come to them? v.13a
2. With what purpose and outcome? v.13b
3. Who will come and bow down? v.14a
4. How will they describe Jerusalem? v.14b
5. How have they been in the past? v.15a
6. Yet how will the Lord make them? v.15b

B. Think:

1. How is the temple going to know its former splendour?
2. How is there going to be a reversal of fortunes?
3. Why, again, is all this going to happen?

C. Comment:

You may have noticed that in this whole section each verse is a four line stanza. It is a prophetic poem about the restoration of Israel. Again and again the same things are being said but in different ways to ensure we actually take in the wonder of what is coming.

The problem of belief is because of what is or has been. In today’s verses we have clear hints of how things have been. They have been oppressed and despised by their enemies (v.14). They have been forsaken and hated and isolated (v.15). Things had not been good, and when it is like that it is hard to believe it is going to change, so the Lord says it again and again.

He has been saying about nations coming to them, prosperity and trade coming to them. Now He talks about the wonderful trees of Lebanon being brought to them to create a beautiful finish for the restored temple, and when that happens the Lord Himself will return to His temple. It will be like it was when the temple was first built.

He has mentioned their sons (descendants) returning. Now He says the sons (descendants) of their enemies will also come but they will come bowing down, acknowledging that Jerusalem is the holy residence of the Lord. There is going to be a transformation and it’s going to come because the Lord is going to come and take His place again at the heart of the nation. Whenever this takes place, whether after the exile, in the 20th century, or yet some future date, it is going to be glorious.

D. Application:

1. The presence of the Lord transforms. Pray for His presence in our nation.
2. When the Lord comes, His enemies bow down. He is the Lord!

Passage: Isaiah 60:16-18

16 You will drink the milk of nations
    and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour,
    your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,
    and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
    and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace your governor
    and well-being your ruler.
18 No longer will violence be heard in your land,
    nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation
    and your gates Praise.

A. Find Out:

1. How will they be fed? v.16a,b
2. How will they then know the Lord? v.16c,d
3. What materials will they be using, instead of what? v.17a-c
4. What will rule over them? v.17d
5. What will not be their portion? v.18a.b
6. But what will surround and protect them? v.18c,d

B. Think:

1. What does verse 16 indicate about the level of care they will receive?
2. What do the materials of verse 17 indicate?
3. What is the similar point to verse 18?

C. Comment:

In this amazing ongoing category of blessings that God is going to bring Israel , He now speaks about intimate care, quality of provision and ultimate security.

First the   INTIMATE CARE that the Lord is going to provide for His people. The ‘milk of nations’ speaks of nourishment that will be provided for them by the world. ‘Nursed at royal breasts’ speaks of the intimate care that is going to be provided by the world. And this is all going to come from the Lord who is their Saviour and Redeemer. He is going to move in such a way that Israel is going to be really cared for by the rest of the world, with leaders taking the most intimate care (giving time and attention) to Israel.

Next there is the QUALITY OF PROVISION. So far, in recent days, they have been using such common materials as bronze, iron, wood and stones. Now the Lord will bring such affluence to them, that they will use gold and silver and quality bronze and iron. There is going to be such a provision they will only use the very best materials! More than that, peace and righteousness will prevail over their lives looking after them.

Then comes ULTIMATE SECURITY. In the past they had known invasion, oppression and destruction. Now there will come such a new level of security from the Lord that His salvation and praise from heaven will be the very things that provide them with all the security they will need. Instead of earthly security which fails, will come a heavenly security, secure for ever.

D. Application:

1. God is concerned to bless His people in every way, spiritual AND material.
2. God’s intent is that His people be secure in His salvation. Are we?

Passage: Isaiah 60:19-22

19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
    nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again,
    and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your days of sorrow will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous
    and they will possess the land for ever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
    the work of my hands,
    for the display of my splendour.
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
    the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the Lord;
    in its time I will do this swiftly.’

A. Find Out:

1. What won’t be their natural source of light? v.19a,b 20a,b
2. Why? v.19c,d, 20c,d
3. What will be the state of the people? v.21a
4. What will they do and why? v.21b-d
5. What will they become? v.22a,b
6. Why? v.22c

B. Think:

1. How do these verses suggest this is not earthly but eternal?
2. How is eternal security shown?
3. What is the final mark of the Lord’s blessing on them?

C. Comment:

As the Lord continues to declare what He will do for Israel, His people, we suddenly realise that these words have an eternal dimension to them.

First of all, that is shown in verses 19 & 20 by the fact that natural light will no longer be our light source, but the Lord Himself. The fact that the sun and moon will no longer set is not natural. The Lord also is declared to be their everlasting light. There is a possibility that this is purely spiritual or figurative but the literal sense seems stronger.

The next unusual element in this passage is the declaration that when this happens ALL of their people will be righteous. Now this could never be so of natural Israel , only spiritual Israel, the Church, for the Church simply means the “called-out” people of God, wherever they are on the earth.

“They will possess the land forever” indicates a new level of security and certainty in their future. Is the land simply the “kingdom of God” that Jesus came to bring? This people are a shoot of the spiritual plant – the people of God are often referred to as a plant that God plants and which grows. God has planted them and so they will grow and flourish and multiply greatly, and when the Lord’s time comes for this to happen, it will all happen very swiftly.

D. Application:

1. Jesus is the Light of the World and has become our light. That light will continue on into eternity for us.
2. The Lord has brought us into a place of eternal security NOW, the kingdom of God on earth, which will flow for us into heaven.